Days of Our Lives: Meet the Cast Tonight for Health Wisdom and Recipes, Obviously

Feeling a little out of balance and in need of some serious qi restoration? Perhaps you would like some tips for leading a more fulfilling life? Sure, your first inclination may be to read a book by the Dali Lama, learn transcendental meditation or head to an ashram, but why go so far when you have the wisdom of your favorite soap stars at your fingertips?

Fans of the NBC soap Days of our Lives, together with all St. Louis-area spiritual seekers, are in luck. Tonight at 7 p.m. at the West County Mall Barnes and Noble, cast members of the daytime drama will be signing copies of their new book,Days of Our Lives Better Living: Cast Secrets for a Healthier, Balanced Life. According to Days co-executive producer Greg Meng, there seemed to be a strong desire among fans to learn how cast members stay so young-looking or keep in such great shape while maintaining a busy schedule. Not content with the obvious Botox-and-good-camera-angles answer, cast members dug deep to provide tips and tricks for those not blessed with personal trainers and on-demand make-up artists.

Culinary enthusiasts will be especially interested in one of the book's Five Noble Truths, er, chapters. Nutrition opens with a very thought-provoking definition of the word. Spoiler alert, the book defines it as (1) food, and (2) the act or process of nourishing. Wow -- and to think we have conceptualized it so differently all of these years.

Further revelations include healthful eating tips such as watching portion size and eating less processed food. Thank goodness these bodhisattvas of the small screen have left the mountaintop to share with us mere mortals their enlightened wisdom. We thought the secret to a good diet was eating and entire box of Ho-Hos. Perhaps the chapter on exercise will reveal further mysteries of the universe, such as the idea that burning calories helps to lose weight.

Of course, no guidebook would be complete without a roadmap for success -- this one comes in the form of such cutting-edge recipes as veggie omelets and smoothies with names like "The Brazilian Bombshell." Hint: put veggies, fruit and ice in a mixer and hit "blend."

Thank you, Days cast members. Thank you.

Meet the cast tonight at the Barnes & Noble in the West Count Mall (80 West County Center, Des Peres 63131) at 7 p.m.